Liberia Skills Development Constraints for Youth in the Informal Sector
The labor force in Liberia is quite young. Youth aged 15 to 34 constitute over a third of thepopulation in Liberia and are somewhat concentrated in urban areas, according to the 2008census. These youth represent both a demographic dividend and a co...
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Language: | English en_US |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2016
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Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/736001477423283461/Liberia-Skills-development-constraints-for-youth-in-the-informal-sector http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25360 |
Summary: | The labor force in Liberia is quite
young. Youth aged 15 to 34 constitute over a third of
thepopulation in Liberia and are somewhat concentrated in
urban areas, according to the 2008census. These youth
represent both a demographic dividend and a concern. The
educational attainment of Liberian youth is steadily
improving but remains low on average.Youth recognize that
their lack of skills and experience are impediments to
employment.The objective of this report is to assess youth
skills development in Liberia.Given the composition of
Liberia’s economy and the concentration of the labor force
outside formal employment, this report has a particular
focus on skill development in vocational trades and the
informal sector. This report comprises three analyses.
Section Two constructs a profile of Liberian youth from
existing administrative data are studied to enable a more
detailed understanding of the current skill levels among
working youth. Section Three first assesses skills
development providers based on new survey data summarizes
the results of original analysis carried out on data
collected on a sample of 139 skill providers’ training
offerings, capacity, target beneficiaries, and other
criteria. Next section three goes on to present young
trainees’ perceptions of skills development opportunities
and limits, based on 354 interviews with recent trainees.
This report contributes to the Government of Liberia’s
Agenda for Transformation (AfT) and the World Bank’s Country
Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2013-2017. Both recognize that
inadequate skills and vulnerable employment are key
constrictions on rapid, inclusive and sustainable
growth.This report provides practical recommendations that
align with pillars of the National Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (TVET) Policy 2015-2020. This report
makes recommendations specific to three pillars: promoting
productivity in the agricultural sector through TVET,
promoting productivity in the informal sector through TVET,
and financing TVET. |
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